Te Puna secured a 27-15 victory over Whakarewarewa in a bruising Baywide Premier encounter at Maramatanga Park.

The match was a physical contest throughout, with both sides trading tries in an evenly fought first half. Te Puna led 17-7 at the break, but Whakarewarewa responded strongly after halftime.

The Rotorua side shifted the ball wide in the second spell to close the gap to 20-15 with just 10 minutes remaining, setting up a tense finish.

However, Te Puna’s dominance at scrum time proved decisive. A turnover in the set piece allowed the home side to gain crucial field position before sealing the game five minutes from fulltime. A quick tap led to No 8 Shaun Dixon crossing for the match-winning try.

Loosehead prop Christian Sauni was named Te Puna’s player of the day, while Sharman Johnson stood out in the backs in his 99th appearance for the club.

Meanwhile, Tauranga Sports maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a 33-10 win over Greerton Marist.

Greerton made a fast start, with halfback Flynn Henderson scoring under the posts after just five minutes. Tauranga Sports responded with two first-half tries to take a narrow 12-7 lead into the break.

Greerton remained competitive early in the second half, with Junior Matautia slotting a penalty to reduce the margin to two points. But Tauranga Sports lifted the intensity late, running in three second-half tries to pull clear.

Tamiro Armstrong scored twice as part of the hosts’ five-try haul, with the side also retaining the Jordan Cup challenge trophy.

At Mount Maunganui, the home side were pushed all the way by Ōpōtiki before claiming a 30-23 win to strengthen their position near the top of the standings. Ōpōtiki picked up a valuable bonus point for finishing within seven points.

In development grade action, Te Puna, Tauranga Sports and Mount Maunganui all completed double-header wins over their respective opponents.

Mount Maunganui and Tauranga Sports also recorded wins in the Colts/Under 85kg competition, while Rangiuru, Rangataua and Arataki were victorious in Western Bay Sub-Union championship matches.

Results (May 9):

BOPRU Premier: Te Puna 27 Whakarewarewa 15, Tauranga Sports 33 Greerton Marist 10, Mount Maunganui 30 Ōpōtiki 23

Points table (provisional): Tauranga Sports 24, Mount Maunganui 21, Te Puke Sports 10, Greerton Marist 9, Te Puna 7, Whakarewarewa 5, Ōpōtiki 3

-Content supplied by Tauranga sports writer Barry Leabourn